7529 Vagnozzi


7529 Vagnozzi, provisional designation, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 January 1994, by and at the Colleverde Observatory near Rome, Italy. The asteroid was named for was named for Italian amateur astronomer Antonio Vagnozzi.

Orbit and classification

Vagnozzi orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 10 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.
It was first identified as at Crimea–Nauchnij in 1969. The first used observation was taken at the Australian Siding Spring Observatory in 1988, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 6 years prior to its official discovery.

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

In August 2011, a tentative rotational lightcurve for Vagnozzi was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomer René Roy. It gave a slower than average rotation period of 36 hours with a high brightness variation of in magnitude, indicating a non-spheroidal shape.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Vagnozzi measures 4.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.29, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 5.7 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.6.

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Antonio Vagnozzi, an Italian amateur astronomer, discoverer of minor planets, and pioneer in using CCD cameras at the Santa Lucia Stroncone Astronomical Observatory in Italy. He is also an observer and discoverer of supernovae. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 11 April 1998.